“Chewing Gum”, from Mihir Fadnavis, features a strange man (Randeep Jha) tormented by an unearthly being on a trip through the city as he becomes increasingly aware of malicious forces chasing after him. This is a fairly fun and chilling short that gets the block off to a great start. The moody black-and-white cinematography from Pratik Shah adds immensely to the presentation, enhancing the shadows around him and keeping the suspense piling up with the strange creature following him almost entirely invisible as a result. The terrifying screeches, groans, and slurping sounds it emits are genuinely chilling, and add to the terrifying ordeal he experiences into the night. This segment can easily be stretched and expanded into a longer feature as the folklore and imagery provided here are top-notch.
“Things That Go Bump in the East” is Screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
“Carnivorous Bean Sprout”, by Seo Sae-rom, concerns the discovery and exhibition of a species of carnivorous bean-sprouts at a zoo in Malaysia before they eventually start to spread their numbers and attack others. Overall, the premise for this short is there but the execution isn't that appealing. Presented as a news report about what's happened, from their discovery to the incidents at the zoo and the controversies that surround them by breeding more or encouraging attacks on visitors, it's hard to tell what the purpose of this all means since the segment is so short and skips around in the format like it does, making this quite confusing. The animation style is certainly appealing and the idea of killer plants in captivity could be fun but it's not enough to make much of a difference.
“Juan-Diablo-Pablo”, co-directed by Ralph Pineda and Dyan Sagenes, is about a demonic entity looking over the subjects of his domain but tormented by his lack of companionship. An almost silent offering, this short has its pros and cons. The pros are more obvious and immediate, with the impeccable effects-work and visuals on display. Not only the main demon but the rest of the subjects we come across are rather dynamic in design and execution, leading to a really eerie look and tone to the underworld created here. However, the lack of dialogue and constant buzzing voices carrying on indistinguishably from a radio nearby also make the short confusing and hard to follow as to what's going on.
“Huh”, directed by Kim Tae-woo, is another animated feature, this one about a village tortured by malevolent spirits during a special celebration and must rely on guardian spirits lead by a timid carver to save them. While a lot of fun overall, this short is a bit of an oddity in this lineup. Most of the issues stem from the bizarre attempts at comedy that fall flat, from centuries-old ghosts breaking into musical numbers, a crying dragon ghost, and the slapstick routines from the ghosts as they possess other beings. This comedic element is seemingly at odds with the mission to rid the village of the malicious beings which is treated seriously enough that the comedy stands out in contrast. While the action and storyline of what's happening come off great as the lively pace keep this going, those small issues do crop up.
“Koreatown Ghost Story”, by Teddy Tenenbaum and Minsun Park, is about a young woman (Lyrica Okano) who arrives at an acupuncturists' (Margaret Cho) house for an appointment and soon becomes confronted by terrifyingly hilarious forces. Unlike the previous short, this one manages to have a mix of horror and comedy that works. Her unease and discomfort, combined with the excessively giddy reaction to the treatment and several glib retorts that are offered throughout everything, make for a lighthearted atmosphere. Once it turns to terror with the forced marriage proposal and what that requires, the atmosphere on display is far more ominous and chilling, leading to a slightly obvious but no-less-chilling finale. This is easily one of the highlight segments of the block.
Joe Hsieh's “Night Bus”, the longest short in the block and yet another animated feature, is about various passengers taking a mysterious bus into town and are soon confronted by a series of obstacles that hinder their journey in unexpected ways. There's also a lot to like and dislike with this short. As a whole, it's more weird than creepy with the passengers on the trip displaying odd characteristics and reactions to everything as the storyline reveals several twists and turns along the way. Once everything is revealed in a series of flashbacks and twists that go beyond what could've possibly been known during the ride there, the end result is more of a collection of disparate ideas that don't build to each other. The goriest entry in the block and featuring an engaging animation style that keeps things interesting helps out quite a bit overall.
“Seen It”, directed by Adithi Krishnadas and the last animated feature in the block, concerns the trials and tribulations of a storyteller and his encounters with various monsters throughout his life. It's somewhat hard to tell what the point of this one is, as the short is presented as an anthology of just random people coming across various monsters, spirits, and beings out in the wild. These are usually so short that it's hard to tell what the point of the encounter is, since the spirit in question will be introduced, shown to torment a person and then be driven off by a special weakness that's introduced at the very end. This format is already being utilized by the block itself and becomes quite distracting as a result. As brief introductions to a variety of Indian folklore and deities, there's a lot of fun to be had here, even if the brief encounters related don't contain much information about them.
Finally, Noboru Suzuki's “Incarnation” concerns a devious young man (Shinsuke Sato) meeting an old woman (Mayumi Amano) in an attempt to defraud her out of money to pay his friend, only to realize that her being a vampire makes his quest much more complicated than expected. As a conclusion to this special block of shorts, this one has a lot to like about it. The various revelations that come about with the story about her vampiric origins and how it's led to the meeting between the two, create a sense of unease the longer she carries on. Once we realize that she's been playing with the young man the entire time, the series of reveals that follow are just as much fun, with the final twist adding a darker nature than expected. This is another fun short and a great way to end this block.
Graced with more hits than misses, a wide range of styles, and some engaging displays of talent across the various countries being represented in this block, the Things That Go Bump in the East series of short films is a highly worthwhile addition to the Fantasia lineup and should be checked out for fans of the style and presentation.
